Yolanda Scott George is Deputy Director and Program Director, Education and Human Resources Programs, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). She has served as Director of Development, Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC), Washington, DC; Director, Professional Development Program, University of California, Berkeley, CA; and as a research biologist at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, Livermore, California involved in cancer research and cell cycle studies using flow cytometer and cell sorters.
George conducts evaluations, workshops and reviews for the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation, as well as for private foundation and public agencies, including the European Commission. She develops and coordinates conferences and workshops related to STEM undergraduate reform and recruitment and retention of minorities, women, and persons with disabilities in STEM. She works with UNIFEM, UNESCO, L’Oreal USA and Paris and non-governmental organizations on gender, science, and technology initiatives related to college and university recruitment and retention and women leadership in STEM.
She currently serves as principal investigator (PI) or co-PI on several National Science Foundation (NSF) grants, including Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education; National Science Education Digital Library (NSDL) Biological Sciences Pathways; Historically Black Colleges and Universities-Undergraduate Programs (HBCU-UP); Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program; Transforming Undergraduate Education in STEM (TUES) and Virtual Faculty Workshop; and Women’s International Research Collaborations at Minority Serving Institutions. In addition, George is the lead AAAS staff person for the L'Oréal USA Fellowships for Women in Science Program (postdoctoral fellowships) and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation HBCU Graduate Scholars Program (graduate school fellowships).
George serves on a number of boards or committees, including: Maria Mitchell Women in Science Awards Committee; McNeil/Lehrer Productions Online Science Reports Advisory Committee; Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Science Enrichment Program Grants, Advisory Board; The HistoryMakers, ScienceMakers, Advisory Board; and the National Advisory Board of The American Physical Society Physics Bridge Program.
George has authored or co-authored over 50 papers, pamphlets, and hands-on science manuals. She received her B.S. and M.S. from Xavier University of Louisiana and Atlanta University in Georgia, respectively.